Adventures on a Bumpy Couch

~By Debbie Christopher

Well, this particular blog post has been months in the making. I’m glad to finally have the opportunity to put it all together and share it with our readers!

The seed was planted in spring 2021 when I had the privilege of being an early draft reader of Sharon’s (co-author of this site) first book. I put my thoughts on the back burner until her book was closer to publication.

Then, that summer my youngest grandson made an awesome comment when I watched him drive his remote control monster trucks across their couch. I knew his comment would fit perfectly so I scribbled it into my ‘blog brainstorm’ notes.

So, ta-da, here it is…

As I read through the early draft of CORE: Biblical Principles for When Life Gets Bumpy (now published and available for purchase), I was ‘wowed’ and touched…convicted may be a better word… by the chapter entitled, ‘Whoa, God vs. Okay, God‘. In this chapter, Sharon talked about choosing to say ‘Okay, God‘ rather than ‘Whoa, God’ when we find ourselves in bumpy circumstances. I made it a life goal to pursue this response, as we were seemingly being bombarded by bumps at the time. Sure enough, another bump popped up soon after.

When we got the news later that month that an expected job opportunity didn’t come through, I almost got the word, “Whoa” out (literally, the word “Whoa”, which is what makes this so special!). But, I remembered. I took a deep breath. I prayed—and said instead, “Okay, God, this is yours”.

Now, what about that monster truck trek across the couch a few months later?

When I asked our young grandson what he was doing with his remote control trucks, he explained that he was testing how they handled the bumps on the couch. He quickly added, “That one didn’t do too well.”

Well, ouch!! Has God ever said, “I’m testing Debbie (or any of us!) to see how she handles the bumps”?

I trust that on that day in April—when we crossed over another bump—on the day I caught myself and changed my response--that God responded, “Well done, Debbie” rather than “She didn’t do too well.”

Yes, this particular chapter will always be special. My prayer for you is to successfully choose to reply, “Okay, God”….and take a deep breath!

Whoa, God…or, Okay, God?

~Debbie

If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to check out this special book. It compares the importance and benefits of a strong physical core to the importance and benefits of a strong spiritual core. Five stars from me!

Sharon Czerwien and Kelly Dean, CORE: Biblical Principles for When Life Gets Bumpy, Maitland, Florida: Xulon Press, 2021.